


To Feel Alive

by SoongTypeDisaster



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Conversations, Flash Fic, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21781738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoongTypeDisaster/pseuds/SoongTypeDisaster
Summary: "Today, Data asked Counselor Troi what it means to “feel alive.” Is it possible to “feel dead?” Data did not understand Troi’s answer, but he appreciated it nonetheless."(Based on a Tumblr post)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 48





	To Feel Alive

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to get into the practice of writing again.
> 
> Credit for the prompt goes to this Tumblr post: https://today-data.tumblr.com/post/189538555994/dec-7th-2019
> 
> "Today, Data asked Counselor Troi what it means to “feel alive.” Is it possible to “feel dead?” Data did not understand Troi’s answer, but he appreciated it nonetheless."

"Counselor, what does it mean to 'feel alive'?"

Troi blinked a couple of times. Data did that sometimes. She ought to have been used to it by now. Clearly this had been troubling him, so she opted not to remark on the sudden change in subject. "Well," she began slowly, trying to choose the right words. It was difficult, sometimes, to find a phrasing that her android friend would find useful. "I suppose it's something we say when we experience something that makes us feel particularly energetic."

There was the whisper of a frown and Data's eyebrows drew together - a learned gesture, at first, gained through observation and mimicry, though it was second nature now, and came automatically. "I can neither feel energetic nor lethargic. Are you able to explain it another way?"

A slow inhale, a look of intensity as she leaned back a little, reversing the forward posture often adopted when talking to patients. It was difficult, always difficult. But she supposed it helped her to stretch her skills a bit. After all, Data had been her friend for years. If she couldn't find ways to explain things to him...

"Well, with humans, sometimes a person will say they 'feel alive' when they've experienced an adrenaline rush."

The frown lines deepened. "So adrenaline is a prerequisite for 'feeling alive'?" He did not have adrenaline, nor anything comparable as far as he was aware.

Deanna sighed, then, not so much at Data's lack of understanding as at her own failure to phrase things correctly. It was easier with the others. They had the same frame of reference. A familiar foundation she could build upon. But Data... his mind worked differently. Not that there was anything wrong with different, but bridging the gap took a bit more effort. "Maybe if you gave me a little more context, that would help me to explain. Is there something in particular that brought this up?"

The answer was instant. There was a time the counselor might have assumed this meant Data already had the answer ready, but that was the nature of his processing speed. His mind worked so much more quickly than most others could follow. The memory was searched for and called up in the blink of an eye, to be recited with perfect clarity. "Something Commander Riker said the other day during the mission. 'This weather really makes you feel alive.' Previously when I have heard this phrase uttered it seemed to refer to a joyful occasion, however the weather to which he was referring was, by most human standards, unpleasant. The temperature was below that which the human body can tolerate for long periods, there was a high moisture content in the air, and what the commander described as a 'biting wind'. I am alive, I am aware of that fact, and I was aware of all of these conditions being present, and yet I do not 'feel alive'. If it is possible to 'feel alive', is it then also possible to 'feel dead'?"

It all spilled out without pause and, unlike Data, Troi needed a moment to process it all. "In a way, yes. We do have phrases like 'dead tired', people who say they don't feel alive until they've had their coffee in the morning, things like that."

Data nodded. Once again, it seemed to come back around to exuberance versus lethargy.

"Do you understand now?"

"I believe so." On the surface, it was not a lie. He at least had some way to define it. A way to file it. But in the deeper, more visceral sense, he still did not. And so his answer was not entirely the truth either. "Thank you, Counselor."


End file.
